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Delirious? Mezzamorphis is the best album Delirious? has made to date. It worships through lyrics that are insightful, prophetic, encouraging, and honest. They probe into themes essential to the Christian faith--communion, salvation, social responsibility, hope, and love--with a sincerity that gives substance to their work. The album is noticeably focused on the topic of heaven. From the opening songs 'The Mezzanine Floor' and 'Heaven' that emphasize the heaven-bound aspect of our being, to the tension-ridden 'Gravity' that emphasize the struggle to be heavenly residents in an earthly form, this heaven focus shines through their lyrics. Even ideas about hell are briefly explored in 'It's OK,' a song that conveys most of its meaning in the mood it creates. Lyrically, the highlights of the album are 'Metamorphis'--a beautiful song about communion, holiness, identity, and our future freedom from the shackles of sin--and 'Blindfold'--a song about brokenness, and the hollow ring that easy answers have in the ears of the suffering, but which ends with a turning of one's face up to the sky in a resounding chorus of "Glory, glory/Glory, in the highest." Musically, the album has a harder modern rock feel than the pop-rock King of Fools (just compare 'Deeper' with 'Deeper 99'). Most notable, though, is the atmospheric, even ethereal, sound produced by the electronic programming and filtered guitars. Although difficult to penetrate at first, for the diligent listener it will result in innumerable pleasures, once the layered sounds are allowed to aid the melody and lyrics in ushering the listener toward the very heart of God. This may occur in the overt claim of Christ in 'Jesus' Blood' or in the mingling ideas of the warmth of the sun and the glory of the Son in 'Beautiful Sun.' 'Gravity' is probably the most accessible song on the album, but its commercial-jingle chorus gets lodged in your head with irritating effect. Push on from there. Explore 'Bliss,' 'Beautiful Sun,' and 'See the Star' and you will get a feel for the sound of the album. Then you should be prepared to dive into the enriching depths of 'Kiss Your Feet,' 'It's OK,' and 'Jesus' Blood.' In the end, you will be rewarded with a nicely reworked version of the King of Fools instant classic, 'Deeper.' This album takes some getting used to. Take the time to get to know it. You should find it forces itself into regular rotation on your CD player, with each listening bringing new joys in the lyrical power and musical richness of the album. (Timothy Y.) |
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